Chapter 336: All For Naught

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

She immediately saw her husband, Yuan Jiaqi, the county magistrate, and a group of officials arranging for the disaster victims.

They wanted to search for a suitable village in the county.

Qiao Mai stood at the side and looked at her husband, whom she had not seen for a long time. He had lost weight and looked haggard. Even his beard had grown out.

However, he seemed to be in good spirits. Just as she was about to walk up and greet her husband, a woman walked to Yuan Jiaqi with a bowl of soup.

“Minister Yuan, you haven’t eaten your fill yet. This is the chicken soup I made for you. There’s ginseng in it. Would you like to have a sip?”

Yuan Jiaqi didn’t even raise his head. “There’s no need. I must settle the matters here and reply to the emperor’s orders as soon as possible.”

“But your health is more important than a moment, right?”

When Qiao Mai heard this, she cursed under her breath. Women would keep appearing around him like flies. Which family was this girl from? Taking advantage of her absence to poach him?

Yuan Jiaqi stopped what he was doing and raised his head to stare coldly at the girl.

“There are many people around who haven’t eaten for a day like me. Can you give them the chicken soup?”

“W-why?”

“I only drink the soup my wife stews.”

After saying that, he lowered his head and continued to record. The woman was embarrassed. In front of so many people, she had no choice but to ask a servant girl to divide the chicken soup into several bowls and distribute it.

Qiao Mai smiled. Her husband had done well, so she took a big apple from her bag.

She quietly came to the table and placed the apple in front of Yuan Jiaqi. “Minister Yuan, thank you for your hard work!”

When Yuan Jiaqi heard this voice, he raised his head abruptly. The moment he saw Qiao Mai, he stood up and rushed forward to hug her in his arms. Breathing in the unique fragrance on his wife’s body, he asked happily.

“Wife, why are you here?”

“I was worried, so I came to see you. Look at how much you’ve lost weight. It seems I have failed as your wife.”

“No, you didn’t.”

The woman had wanted to scold Qiao Mai, who had suddenly appeared, but when she heard Yuan Jiaqi call her wife, her face immediately turned pale.

She coldly sized up Qiao Mai. When she saw her looking like a village woman, her confidence immediately soared.

Qiao Mai looked at Yuan Jiaqi gently.” Have an apple first. I’ll make you something delicious later.”

“Okay.”

Yuan Jiaqi picked up the apple and started eating.” Oh, it’s so delicious. I haven’t eaten anything from home for more than a month.”

“Are you done here?” “That’s all. After settling the disaster victims in the city, I can leave.”

“Then I’ll wait for you?”

The couple’s lovey-dovey appearance was too eye-catching. The girl was so angry that she clasped her hands together. She exchanged glances with a man present. The man shook his head at her. The woman remained silent and did not take further action.

She was the daughter of the county magistrate. When she first saw the mature and dignified Yuan Jiaqi, she had fallen in love with him.

But with her current identity and status, she was not even qualified to be a concubine of an honorary prince.

So she told her parents about her thoughts. They didn’t object, but the county magistrate inquired about Yuan Jiaqi with the men he brought.

This man was afraid of his wife, and all his money came from the Royal Consort. The passion in his heart immediately cooled by half.

What was there to climb up to? They couldn’t count on anything. Even if they wanted to take advantage, they had to depend on Qiao Mai. Other than the girl herself, no one had any fantasies.

It had been several days, but Yuan Jiaqi did not even give her a chance. She was so anxious that she was running around in circles.

Yuan Jiaqi asked someone to move a chair for Qiao Mai to sit beside him. He let her watch from the side when he was working. The two looked at each other and smiled from time to time.

The girl was unwilling to give up and came to Qiao Mai’s side.

“The daughter of the county magistrate of Yuanshan, Sun Shumin greets the

Royal Consort.”

“Yes. What’s the matter?”

“After Mr. Yuan is done with his work, why don’t you come to my house? My culinary skills are decent…”

Before she could finish, Qiao Mai interrupted her.

“My husband and I have never had any dealings with any officials of the imperial court privately. Work is work. If there’s anything, we’ll talk here. If there’s nothing, we’ll go home.”

This sentence made Miss Sun’s face turn red. How could she continue?

She could only curtsy and say, “Yes, Royal Consort,” before standing to the side.

The sky gradually darkened. The people registered today would follow the official to the village early in the morning to arrange their settlement.

Yuan Jiaqi stood up and held Qiao Mai’s hand.

“Wife, the people I brought are all staying in the inn. Let’s go to the restaurant to eat later?”

“You don’t need me to cook for you?”

“You are also tired. Have a good rest for the night.”

Yuan Jiaqi held his wife’s hand and didn’t even look at Miss Sun. He walked in front, and the people he brought followed behind.

The Yuanshan County Magistrate sighed and let his subordinates finish up the work.

“Daughter, stop being delusional. It’s impossible for what you have in your heart. Don’t let it be all for naught.”

“Father, I like him.”

“He’s not the one for you!”

“With my beauty, I don’t believe I can’t enter his eyes.”

” Don’t lie to yourself. He didn’t even look at you.”

“Hmph, as long as he takes a serious look at me, he will be mesmerized by my beauty.”

The county magistrate looked at his daughter with a strange gaze, not knowing what to say.

His daughter was a famous beauty in Yuanshan County. If she said she was second, no one would claim first. Even if she wasn’t devastatingly beautiful, she could still be considered stunning.

She was good-looking but conceited. How could she be willing to stay in such a small place?

Naturally, she wanted to marry up. With her status, she did not fancy a small family, but she couldn’t marry into a noble family. Now, she was seventeen but had not set a marriage.

Yuan Jiaqi had always been good-looking. He was gentle and refined, but he had also been socializing with the emperor and officials in the capital over the years. He had cultivated a noble aura. All the women wanted to have him as a partner.

Not to mention the girls from a small county, even the wealthy and prominent families in the capital wanted him.

Unfortunately, they were all defeated by Yuan Jiaqi’s vicious mouth and ruthlessness.

Until now, Yuan Jiaqi had never looked Miss Sun in the eye.

In a private room on the second floor of the restaurant, a sumptuous meal was served. Yuan Jiaqi handed Qiao Mai a pair of chopsticks.

“Wife, why don’t you try the dishes from the South?”

“Alright, hurry up and eat too. We’ve been busy all day. Don’t stand on ceremony.”

“Yes, Royal Consort!”

Yuan Jiaqi wanted to peel some prawns for Qiao Mai, but she stopped him. ‘ Eat your food. This is a critical period. I won’t stop you from doing whatever you want when we get home.”

“Uh, then I’ll start eating?”

Everyone at the table wolfed down their food except for Qiao Mai. They were all her husband’s subordinates and were loyal to him, so Qiao Mai naturally couldn’t mistreat them.

She took a jar of wine from under the table. Yuan Jiaqi’s eyes lit up as he took it. “Don’t just eat. Come, let’s have a bowl of wine each. Drink it to relieve your fatigue and have a good sleep.”

“Yes, Mr. Yuan!”

To prevent delaying things, he did not allow his subordinates to drink wine these days. When Qiao Mai arrived, they could finally taste alcohol again.

They were about to die from craving it. A subordinate took the wine jar and asked the shopkeeper to send in a few bowls. He filled a bowl for everyone.

Opening the lid, just smelling the fragrance of the wine relieved the tiredness in their body.

Someone couldn’t wait to take a sip. “Wow, this wine smells so good. It’s warm in my stomach and dispelled my fatigue. It’s really good wine.” “This is the medicinal wine I made. It’s good for your bodies.”

“Thank you, Royal Consort.”

Qiao Mai picked up the wine bowl for her husband. “Drink up. You’ve lost a lot of weight recently. Now that I’m here, you can have a good sleep.”

Yuan Jiaqi’s eyes reddened. “Yes!”

When everyone saw this, they quickly lowered their heads and returned to the inn to rest.

The two ate and walked hand in hand on the streets of the county town.

“Where are Dongzhao and Dracaena?”

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